Some of the content on this website requires JavaScript to be enabled in your web browser to function as intended. While the website is still usable without JavaScript, it should be enabled to enjoy the full interactive experience.

Social Work MSW Program Provides Online Resources for Franklin Regional Community

California University’s online
learning management system is taking on a new assignment in the aftermath of
the April 9 stabbing incident at Franklin Regional High School.

Rather than connecting Cal U
students and professors, Desire2Learn (D2L) will link students, families and
community members with educational materials and other resources that may help
them cope.

A 16-year-old suspect is in custody
after he allegedly stabbed 21 Franklin Regional students and a school security
guard in a school hallway. Several students were still hospitalized when the
school reopened one week after the incident, which drew national media
attention to the suburban school district about 45 miles from Cal U.

“By using D2L, we can provide crisis
intervention educational materials and links to other resources that might be
helpful,” says Dr. Peg Christopher, an associate professor in Cal U’s
Department of Social Work. She spearheaded the D2L project through the multidisciplinary
Assessment, Intervention and Training Center housed in the MSW Program at Cal
U.

“We’re using D2L to create a
safe place, a confidential environment where people can request resources or,
if they choose, share their own stories.”

Members of the Franklin
Regional community — including Franklin Regional graduates who attend Cal U —
can enroll in the D2L site, Christopher explained. Once online they can access
information, request additional resources or describe their own experiences.

“Sometimes just telling your
story can be therapeutic,” Christopher says. “But you need to tell it in your
own time, and in your own way.”

At some point, the D2L site may
include a discussion board so participants can interact. But for now only a handful
of licensed professionals, bound by confidentiality, will be able to read the
requests posted on D2L. They will decide whether to respond to postings
directly or provide more broad-based information.

The D2L project is intended to
supplement the work of crisis intervention teams and counselors who are working
in the school district and the community.

Christopher was one of a number
of professionals who provided support for students, families and community
members after church services in the Murrysville area on the day of the attack.
She met with students who were “still processing what had happened” and with
several adults from the community who mobilized to help the students and
families.

“We had prepared 100 handouts,
and I could have used more,” she said. “Those students and their families were
eager for information.”

The informal, community-based
response to the school district’s needs aligns with the mission of the Social
Work Department, particularly the Master of Social Work program at Cal U. The
program focuses on social work in rural areas and small towns.

Students, families and other members of the Franklin Regional community
who would like to enroll in the D2L site may contact Dr. Peg Christopher at
724-938-5358 or 733-2928. Just leave your name and an e-mail address on the
confidential voice mail.